Some 500 audience members were on hand to hear and meet David Guterson on March 17. In an on-stage interview with Dr. Nicolas Witschi of WMU, the award winning author of Snow Falling on Cedars answered questions about the book, his writing habits, about Bainbridge Island, about literature for high school students, and about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Guterson wrote Snow Falling on Cedars some 25 years ago, a labor 10 years in the making. He carved out time in summers, on weekends, and early in the morning to write. Now a full-time author, he still writes daily out of habit.

“It’s important to work every day.” Some days, he said, nothing happens, but “it’s important to be sitting there when something happens.”

Guterson was asked how the exhibition “For the Sake of the Children” (on display at KPL through April 14) came to inspire Snow Falling on Cedars. He said he first saw it on display at Bainbridge High School where he was a teacher.

“The exhibit helped people understand visually —and therefore emotionally—what happened. I realized I was looking at faces of people I knew. They were a reality, not an abstraction.”

Guterson said he was pleased that his book has inspired communities to explore and remember what happened to Japanese Americans.

“Just the idea that all of this is happening here, the exhibits at the library, I feel really good about that.”

David Guterson in Kalamazoo

This year, thousands of readers in Kalamazoo County will immerse themselves in David Guterson’s unforgettable novel Snow Falling on Cedars.

We are pleased to present what we think is an especially rich array of programs planned for February, March and April. Browse the calendar of events to find discussions and presentations that you’d like to attend.

Highlights of three programs:

Nissei Served in World War II — Hear the remarkable stories of two Japanese American men who went from internment camps to military service, finally retiring as professors from Michigan State University.

This season would not be possible without the enthusiastic work of our local and national partners, and the thousands of readers who’ve participated each year since 2003. To all of you we offer our grateful thanks.

Book

Snow Falling on Cedars

Novelist, short story writer, poet, journalist, and essayist David Guterson earned his M.A. from the University of Washington, where he studied under the writer Charles Johnson. After moving to Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound, Guterson taught English at the local high school and began writing for Sports Illustrated and Harper’s magazine. His work also includes the novels East of the Mountains, Our Lady of the Forest, and The Other.

David Guterson’s New York Times best-seller Snow Falling on Cedars will be the 2010 Reading Together selection. Book discussions and a wide variety of special events will take place during February, March and April. The author will visit Kalamazoo on March 17.